Eddie Bauer and Seattle as the birthplace of quilted down parkas

With its scenic outdoorsy entrance and plethora of tents, REI has become a fixture of Seattle even a tourist attraction. But REI isn’t the only Seattle business to dominate the market for outdoors clothing. So you might wonder…

How did Eddie Bauer, the other famous Seattle outfitter, get its start?

MOHAI’s Phyllis Franklin and Helen Divjak gave us the answer in the 26th installment of ASK MOHAI. They write:

Keeping mountaineers and soldiers warm

In the 1920s, Eddie Bauer opened a sporting goods shop at 211 Seneca Street in downtown Seattle. At first, most of his business was in tennis and golf equipment, but he soon expanded into fishing tackle, hunting gear, and outdoor clothing. Bauer and the members of his staff were active in many sports and used their wide experience in helping customers. This photo was taken in 1942. (Museum of History & Industry Photograph Collection)

Every year, millions of Washingtonians head into the wilderness for adventure, clarity, exercise, or just plain fun. Whether out of necessity or pleasure, an appreciation of the great outdoors has always been a part of Pacific-Northwest Culture. It’s no surprise, then, that a passion for wilderness served as inspiration for a one of Seattle’s most celebrated – and internationally-recognized – entrepreneurs, Eddie Bauer.

The son of German-Russian immigrants, Eddie Bauer was born on Orcas Island in 1899. Though he initially learned hunting and fishing out of necessity, Bauer quickly developed passion – and aptitude – for both activities, as well as a deep appreciation for the spectacular wilderness that surrounded him. Translating this love of the outdoors into business, he went on to open Eddie Bauer’s Tennis Shop on Seneca Street in Seattle in 1920, which rapidly grew to include gear for fishing, golfing, tennis, hiking, and skiing.

It wasn’t until the 1930′s, however, that Bauer truly made his mark on outdoor wear with the introduction of his signature parka – still worn today by mountaineers and fashionistas, alike. Inspired by his Cossack relatives, Bauer’s quilted, down-insulted parkas revolutionized cold-weather activities by enabling adventurers to brave the even coldest of temperatures in relative comfort.

During World War II, for example, the parkas became a huge hit with officers in the army air force stationed in Sand Point and Alaska, who had to endure long flights in unheated aircraft. Bauer responded to the demand for his parkas by creating “flight suits”, which were not only warm, but also buoyant when in water. These flight suits – one if which is preserved today in MOHAI’s collection, along with a number of Bauer’s insulated mittens, booties, and sleeping bags – were used by tens-of-thousands of soldiers during the war, and ultimately responsible for Bauer’s national popularity. It’s no coincidence then, that the Seattle sporting goods store released its first mail order catalogue in 1945, just as soldiers were retuning home with Eddie Bauer tags sewn into their favorite army-issued jackets.

Soldiers, of course, weren’t the only ones to benefit from Bauer’s personally-tested outdoor equipment (which came with a generous money-back guarantee). Not long after the war, mountaineers began to use the warm, yet relatively light, winter wear for expeditions and adventures. In 1953, famous Seattle mountaineer, Pete Schoening selected Eddie Bauer outerwear for his 1953 ascent of K2 – arguably the world’s most challenging mountain to conquer (Schoening later donated the parka to MOHAI). Eddie Bauer outerwear, underwear, and sleeping bags were also the top choice for U.S.’s first expedition to Mount Everest in 1963. The expedition soon lead to Bauer’s release of the popular “Mount Everest Parka”.

By 1968, when Bauer sold his company, it was earning many millions of dollars. Like so many other successful Seattleites, he had built his empire out of a genuine passion, which, when combined with his savvy for customer service, ensured success. So, as you head out to the Cascades this weekend or flip through your next Eddie Bauer catalog, remember that it was the Seattle’s surrounding wilderness that gave Bauer his start, and it was Bauer who put Seattle on the map for sporting equipment.